Tiger Woods retained the Mark H. McCormack Award after dominating last year's world rankings, the Official World Golf Ranking's governing board said on Wednesday.

Woods, who has claimed the award every year since its inception in 1998, has been the game's leading player since replacing Fiji's Vijay Singh in June 2005.

He retained his grip despite being sidelined for eight months after having reconstructive knee surgery following his U.S. Open victory in June.

The award is presented to the player who holds the number one position in the world rankings for the greatest number of weeks in each calendar year.

(Xinhua News Agency March 27, 2009)